Machine Oil, Ducks, and the Christian Church

One of my favorite stories is about a man who visited a machine oil factory. The owner of the factory proudly took the man around and showed him the impressive process. It was quite an operation. At the end of the tour the man asked the owner of the plant, “Where is the shipping department?”

“Oh, we don’t have a shipping department,” he replied. “We use all our oil to run the factory.”

During the last few days, as I have been evaluating how well Minor Memorial is carrying out the strategy we spent months developing, I was reminded of this story. It is so easy for us to spend almost all of our energy in the church on institutional maintenance and have little left to carry out mission and ministry. It is so easy to focus on ourselves and forget that God sends us into the world to make disciples. He commands us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked.

It is vitally important for Christians to study the scripture together. Sunday School classes, bible courses, home cell groups help us grow in our knowledge of God. But these are not the “end.” They are the “means to the end.” The book of James warns us, “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves” (James 1:22). I like the way this is translated in The Message New Testament. “Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear!”

Søren Kierkegaard, the famous philosopher once told a parable about some ducks from an imaginary “duck country.” Every Sunday the ducks would waddle to church, walk down the aisle, and squat in the pews. The duck pastor would read from the duck bible: “Ducks! You have wings, and with wings you can fly like eagles. You can soar into the skies! Ducks! You have wings!” With wings there was nowhere the ducks could not go, nothing they could not accomplish.

The ducks would respond to the pastor’s sermon with a hearty “Amen!” But when church was over, they waddled home. Not a single duck would fly.

Kierkegaard told this parable about the Denmark church of his day. A church that had lost its passion for the gospel. A church that had largely forgotten its mission. I wonder what this great Danish Christian philosopher would say about the modern church in America?

Church Cemetery

My friend Andy Ray is pastor of First United Methodist Church in Tupelo, Mississippi. He tells a wonderful story about his first position just out of seminary. He was appointed by the bishop to a “charge” of four churches. One of the churches that he felt had the most potential had no budget, no program, and saw no need to change. He got the leadership to agree to engage in a strategic planning session on a Sunday afternoon. He arrived at the church early to prepare. He set up tables, taped newsprint to the walls, and gathered the supplies they would need for this most important meeting. He was excited about a day of visioning.

After a few minutes he began to hear people arriving. With each sound of a car door closing his heart beat a little stronger. But as he waited in the church no one came in. Finally, looking out a side window he saw more than a dozen members working in the church cemetery. His heart sank. It was then that he realized that the members of this congregation were more concerned about the dead than they were the living.

Andy says, “I was so disappointed that I cried. Those graves marked those who had given their lives to have a church. Now we had a church to sustain a cemetery.”

It is vital that every church understand its purpose. God’s people are called to be a covenant community, not a social club. We are called to be an expeditionary force, not a fortress. We are called to transform the world, not gather into our safe enclaves and complain about the world going to hell.

Minor Memorial’s mission statement says our purpose is to grow disciples of Jesus Christ through worship, study (training), fellowship, and service. The abbreviated version of our vision is Every Member in Ministry. The abbreviated version of our strategy is Meeting Needs, Sharing Christ. My prayer is that, as the body of Christ we learn to live out this purpose and truly become a church that makes a difference and transforms the world.

Excellent Service

` This week I’ve been attending The Leadership Institute at Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. Church of the Resurrection in one of the largest, fastest growing United Methodist churches in the world. I had an interesting experience the first night I was here. Having just arrived I asked the clerk at the hotel desk if there was a good Mexican restaurant nearby. He informed me that there was an On the Border just around the corner.
At the restaurant the hostess seated me right away. But then I sat there for several minutes before the manager finally came over and asked me if had been helped. When he realized I had been waiting for some time he took my order. Just after the manager left my waiter arrived. The manager came back and informed him that my order had been taken. From then on the server lived up to his title, giving me excellent service.
When I finished my meal the waiter informed me that there was no charge for my dinner. He apologized for his slow response at the beginning. It was clear that the manager had had a little talk with this employee.
I left that restaurant with a different attitude toward this restaurant chain, especially the one in Kansas City. I also began to think about the Christian church in general and Minor Memorial in particular. I wondered how guest feel when they visit our church. I wondered if they feel like they get “added value” for their investment of time and effort to attend our worship services. Are people blessed by our music? Are they encouraged and strengthened by the messages? Are they made to feel welcomed and comfortable? Do they leave feeling that this is a place where they could really belong.
I have to confess that I have seen several visitors over the past year sitting in the fellowship hall by themselves. It is so easy to let this happen. One conference speaker this week at the Leadership Institute smiled when he said, “Every church is friendly. Unfortunately, we are too often just friendly to one another. We don’t always include our guests.”
Becoming a part of a new church is not easy. Helping people experience real community is hard work. It is every church member’s responsibility to help make this happen. We have all had bad experiences at a restaurant. Excellent service makes a lasting impression. Creating the kind of atmosphere that attracts others to God’s church is “job one” for every church member. It won’t happen without YOU!